Parking brake system

ABSTRACT

A parking brake system is provided in which a parking brake state for a wheel brake ( 2 A) is obtained by forward movement of a parking piston ( 44 ) slidably fitted into a casing ( 23 ) with the rear side of the parking piston ( 44 ) facing a parking control fluid pressure chamber ( 47 ), and the forwardly moved state of the parking piston ( 44 ) is mechanically locked by spheres ( 58 ) pushed up as a result of forward movement of a lock piston ( 56 ) of a lock mechanism ( 31 ). Moreover, a plurality of guide grooves ( 126 ), into which parts of the spheres ( 58 ) are rollably fitted, are provided on the inner face of a large diameter hole ( 38 ), the inner face of a restricting step ( 42 ), and the inner face of a small diameter hole ( 39 ), the guide grooves ( 126 ) having a concavely curved cross-sectional shape and extending in the axial direction of an insertion shaft ( 59 ). This enables an automatic parking brake state to be obtained by a simple structure without consuming power.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a parking brake system and, inparticular, to a parking brake system in which a parking brake state isobtained by locking a brake piston in its operating state.

BACKGROUND ART

Such a parking brake system is already known from, for example, PatentPublications 1 and 2.

-   Patent Publication 1: Japanese Patent Publication (PCT) No.    10-512947-   Patent Publication 2: Japanese Patent Publication (PCT) No.    2000-504811

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

In Patent Publication 1, the brake piston is divided into front and rearbrake pistons, a spring is provided in a compressed state between atransmission member abutting against the front end of the rear brakepiston and a blocking plate fixed to the front brake piston, a latchcapable of meshing with inner teeth cut into an inner face of a brakecaliper to the rear of the front brake piston is housed within the brakecaliper so as to engage with the inner teeth in a state in which thetransmission member abuts against the front end of the rear brake pistonbut disengages from the inner teeth due to the urging force of thespring when the transmission member moves forward relative to the frontend of the rear brake piston, and an auxiliary piston is slidably fittedinto the rear brake piston, the auxiliary piston being capable of movingthe transmission member in the axial direction relative to the rearbrake piston. Since it is necessary to cut the inner teeth on the innerface of the brake caliper and house the latch within the brake caliperwhile dividing the brake piston into the front and rear brake pistons,the structure of the interior of the brake caliper is complicated.

Furthermore, in Patent Publication 2, an adjustment bolt having itsfront end part fixedly connected to the brake piston is screwed into anadjustment nut, an electromagnet exhibiting an electromagnetic force formaking the adjustment nut frictionally engage with a casing is disposedwithin a brake caliper to the rear of the adjustment nut, and whenobtaining a parking brake state, the electromagnet makes the adjustmentnut frictionally engage with the casing in a state in which brake fluidpressure acts on the brake piston, thus preventing the brake piston fromretreating. However, not only is it necessary to house the electromagnetwithin the brake caliper, thus making the structure complicated, but itis also necessary to maintain an energized state of a winding of theelectromagnet in the parking brake state, thus increasing the powerconsumption.

The present invention has been accomplished under the above-mentionedcircumstances, and it is an object thereof to provide a parking brakesystem that enables a parking brake state to be obtained by a simplestructure without consuming power.

Means for Solving the Problems

In order to attain the above object, in accordance with a first aspectof the present invention, there is provided a parking brake systemcomprising: a parking piston slidably fitted into a casing so that aparking brake state can be obtained by forward movement in response to aparking control fluid pressure acting on a rear face side of the parkingpiston; a lock mechanism provided within the casing to the rear of theparking piston so as to automatically lock in response to forwardmovement of the parking piston in order to mechanically lock the parkingpiston at a forward position and unlock in response to a parking releasecontrol fluid pressure acting on the lock mechanism; a fluid pressuresource; and fluid pressure control means for controlling a fluidpressure generated by the fluid pressure source so that the parkingcontrol fluid pressure and the parking release control fluid pressurecan be obtained; the lock mechanism comprising a lock piston that isslidably fitted into the casing to the rear of the parking piston sothat at least when the parking piston moves forward a forward urgingforce acts on the lock piston and that is arranged such that a parkingrelease control pressure can act on the lock piston toward the rear, acylindrical retaining tube that is integrally and coaxially connected toa rear part of the parking piston, spheres that are retained at aplurality of positions in the peripheral direction of the retaining tubeso as to be able to move in a direction along the radial direction ofthe retaining tube, and an insertion shaft that is connected integrallyto the front end of the lock piston so as to be axially relativelymovably inserted into the retaining tube in order to sandwich thespheres between the insertion shaft and the inner face of the casingwhile contacting the spheres from the inside of the retaining tube andthat can push the spheres radially outward when the lock piston moves toa forward position in response to forward movement of the parking pistonfrom a retreat limit, the casing having provided therein, so as tosurround the retaining tube, a large diameter hole on the front sidewith which the radially outwardly pushed spheres make contact, a smalldiameter hole on the rear side with which the spheres at a radiallyinner position make contact, and a restricting step that is disposedbetween the large diameter hole and the small diameter hole in order torestrict retreat of the spheres by abutting, from the rear, against thespheres in contact with the large diameter hole, and a plurality ofguide grooves extending in the axial direction of the insertion shaftbeing provided on the inner face of the large diameter hole, the innerface of the restricting step, and the inner face of the small diameterhole, the guide grooves having a concavely curved cross-sectional shapewith a diameter that is equal to or larger than the diameter of thespheres so that part of each sphere is rollably fitted into the guidegroove.

Effects of the Invention

In accordance with the present invention, since making the parkingcontrol fluid pressure act on the rear face of the parking piston makesthe parking piston move forward and the lock mechanism mechanically lockthe forward position of the parking piston, it is possible to obtain aparking brake state automatically; furthermore, when releasing theparking brake state, the parking release control fluid pressure may bemade to act on the lock mechanism, and it is possible to automaticallyobtain a parking brake state by a simple structure without consumingpower in the parking brake state.

Furthermore, the lock mechanism includes the lock piston, which isslidably fitted into the casing to the rear of the parking piston sothat a forward urging force acts on the lock piston when the parkingpiston moves forward and which is capable of making a parking releasecontrol fluid pressure act toward the rear on the lock piston, thecylindrical retaining tube, which is coaxially and integrally providedto the rear part of the parking piston, the spheres, which are retainedat a plurality of positions in the peripheral direction of the retainingtube, and the insertion shaft, which is provided integrally with thefront end of the lock piston in order to sandwich each of the spheresbetween itself and the inner face of the casing by contacting each ofthe spheres from the inside of the retaining tube; the insertion shaftis formed so as to push each of the spheres radially outward when thelock piston moves to the forward position in response to the parkingpiston moving forward from the retreat limit; and the casing is providedwith the restricting step that is capable of abutting, from the rear,against the spheres pushed radially outward by the insertion shaft.Therefore, the lock piston moves forward when the parking piston movesforward, each of the spheres is thus pushed up by means of the insertionshaft, rearward movement of each of the spheres is restricted by therestricting step and by being sandwiched between the large diameter holeand the insertion shaft, and it is thereby possible to maintain a lockedstate. Moreover, by making the parking release control fluid pressureact on the lock piston so as to make the lock piston retreat it ispossible to release the parking brake state.

Furthermore, since the plurality of guide grooves are provided on theinner faces of the large diameter hole, the restricting step, and thesmall diameter hole of the casing so as to extend in the axialdirection, the guide grooves having a concavely curved cross-sectionalshape with a diameter that is equal to or larger than the diameter ofthe sphere so that part of each sphere is rollably fitted into thegroove, it is possible to make the contact area between the sphere andthe casing relatively large, and relieve the stress acting on the sphereand the casing in a locked state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a fluid pressure circuit diagram of a vehicle brake system(first embodiment).

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a front left wheel brake at atime of non-parking braking (first embodiment).

FIG. 3 is a view from arrow 3 in FIG. 2 (first embodiment).

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of an essential part in FIG. 2 (firstembodiment).

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a part in FIG. 4 (first embodiment).

FIG. 6 is a sectional view along line 6-6 in FIG. 5 (first embodiment).

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view, corresponding to FIG. 2, in aparking brake state (first embodiment).

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a state in which a tool is coupled toa lock piston (first embodiment).

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS AND SYMBOLS

-   10A, 10B Pump as Fluid Pressure Source-   23 Casing-   31 Lock Mechanism-   38 Second Slide Hole as Large Diameter Hole-   39 Guide Hole as Small Diameter Hole-   42 Restricting Step-   44 Parking Piston-   56 Lock Piston-   57 Retaining Tube-   58 Sphere-   59 Insertion Shaft-   105A, 105B Fluid Pressure Control Means-   126 Guide Groove-   M Master Cylinder as Fluid Pressure Source

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A mode for carrying out the present invention is explained below byreference to one embodiment of the present invention shown in theattached drawings.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 to FIG. 8 show one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a tandem type master cylinder M includesfirst and second output ports 1A and 1B for generating a brake fluidpressure according to a depressing force that is applied by a vehicledriver to a brake pedal 4; the first output port 1A is connected to afirst output fluid pressure line 3A, and the second output port 1B isconnected to a second output fluid pressure line 3B.

The first output fluid pressure line 3A is connected to a first fluidpressure line 20A via a cut valve 17A, which is a normally open solenoidvalve, and the second output fluid pressure line 3B is connected to asecond fluid pressure line 20B via a cut valve 17B, which is a normallyopen solenoid valve.

The first fluid pressure line 20A is connected to a front left wheelbrake 2A, which is a disk brake equipped with a parking brake mechanism,via an inlet valve 6A, which is a normally open solenoid valve, and isalso connected to a rear right wheel brake 2B, which is a disk brake,via an inlet valve 6B, which is a normally open solenoid valve.Furthermore, the second fluid pressure line 20B is connected to a frontright wheel brake 2C, which is a disk brake equipped with a parkingbrake mechanism, via an inlet valve 6C, which is a normally opensolenoid valve, and is also connected to a rear left wheel brake 2D,which is a disk brake, via an inlet valve 6D, which is a normally opensolenoid valve. Moreover, the inlet valves 6A to 6D are connected inseries to check valves 7A to 7D respectively.

Provided between a first reservoir 8A, which corresponds to the firstfluid pressure line 20A, and the front left wheel brake 2A and rearright wheel brake 2B are outlet valves 9A and 9B respectively, which arenormally closed solenoid valves, and provided between a second reservoir8B, which corresponds to the second fluid pressure line 20B, and thefront right wheel brake 2C and rear left wheel brake 2D are outletvalves 9C and 9D respectively, which are normally closed solenoidvalves.

The first and second reservoirs 8A and 8B are connected to intake sidesof first and second pumps 10A and 10B driven by a common electric motor11 via one-way valves 19A and 19B that allow the flow of brake fluid tothe pumps 10A and 10B. The first and second output fluid pressure lines3A and 3B are connected to points between the first and second pumps 10Aand 10B and the one-way valves 19A and 19B via suction valves 18A and18B, which are normally closed solenoid valves, and the first and secondfluid pressure lines 20A and 20B are connected to discharge sides of thefirst and second pumps 10A and 10B via first and second dampers 13A and13B.

At a time of normal braking when there is no possibility of the wheelslocking, each of the inlet valves 6A to 6D is put into a de-energizedvalve-open state, each of the outlet valves 9A to 9D is put into ade-energized valve-closed state, and the brake fluid pressure outputtedfrom the first output port 1A of the master cylinder M acts on the frontleft wheel and rear right wheel brakes 2A and 2B via the inlet valves 6Aand 6B. Furthermore, the brake fluid pressure outputted from the secondoutput port 1B of the master cylinder M acts on the front right wheeland rear left wheel brakes 2C and 2D via the inlet valves 6C and 6D.

When a wheel nearly comes into a locked state during the above-mentionedbraking, among the inlet valves 6A to 6D, the inlet valve correspondingto the wheel that has nearly come into the locked state is energized andclosed, and among the outlet valves 9A to 9D, the outlet valvecorresponding to the above wheel is energized and opened. Part of thebrake fluid pressure on the wheel that has nearly come into the lockedstate is thereby absorbed by the first reservoir 8A or the secondreservoir 8B, and the brake fluid pressure on the wheel that has nearlycome into the locked state is reduced.

Furthermore, when maintaining the brake fluid pressure at a constantlevel, the inlet valves 6A to 6D are energized and closed and the outletvalves 9A to 9D are de-energized and closed and, moreover, whenincreasing the brake fluid pressure, the inlet valves 6A to 6D may beput into a de-energized valve-open state, and the outlet valves 9A to 9Dmay be put into a de-energized valve-closed state.

Controlling the de-energization/energization of each of the inlet valves6A to 6D and each of the outlet valves 9A to 9D in this way enables thewheels to be braked efficiently without being locked.

During the above-mentioned antilock brake control, the electric motor 11is rotationally operated, the first and second pumps 10A and 10B aredriven accompanying the operation of the electric motor 11, and thebrake fluid absorbed by the first and second reservoirs 8A and 8B istherefore taken into the first and second pumps 10A and 10B and thencirculated to the first and second output fluid pressure lines 3A and 3Bvia the first and second dampers 13A and 13B. Due to such circulation ofthe brake fluid, it is possible to prevent any increase in the amount bywhich the brake pedal 4 is depressed due to the first and secondreservoirs 8A and 8B absorbing the brake fluid. Moreover, pulsation ofthe discharge pressure of the first and second pumps 10A and 10B issuppressed by operation of the first and second dampers 13A and 13B, andthe above circulation does not impair the operational feel of the brakepedal 4.

By operating the electric motor 11 in a state in which the suctionvalves 18A and 18B are energized and opened and the cut valves 17A and17B are energized and closed, the first and second pumps 10A and 10Btake in the brake fluid from the master cylinder M side and dischargepressurized brake fluid into the first and second fluid pressure lines20A and 20B.

Furthermore, pressure sensors 15A and 15B for detecting brake fluidpressure are connected to the front left wheel and front right wheelbrakes 2A and 2C.

In FIG. 2, in the front left wheel brake 2A, which is the disk brakeequipped with the parking brake mechanism, a first friction pad 72 and asecond friction pad 73 are disposed so as to oppose each other onopposite sides of a brake disk 71 that rotates together with the wheel.These first and second friction pads 72 and 73 are formed from linings72 a and 73 a that can abut against the brake disk 71, and back plates72 b and 73 b fixed to rear faces of the linings 72 a and 73 a, and theback plates 72 b and 73 b are supported, so that they can move freely inthe axial direction of a brake piston 78, on a bracket 74 fixed to avehicle body. Furthermore, a brake caliper 75 straddling the first andsecond friction pads 72 and 73 is supported on the bracket 74 so that itcan move freely in the axial direction of the brake piston 78.

The brake caliper 75 includes a first clamping arm 75 a facing the backplate 72 b of the first friction pad 72 and a second clamping arm 75 bfacing the back plate 73 b of the second friction pad 73, and the firstand second clamping arms 75 a and 75 b are integrally connected via abridging part 75 c running past an outer peripheral part of the brakedisk 71. A cylinder hole 76 is provided in the first clamping arm 75 a,and the brake piston 78, which has a cup shape, is slidably fitted intothe cylinder hole 76 via a seal 77. A forward end part of the brakepiston 78 facing the back plate 72 b of the first friction pad 72 so asto be able to abut thereagainst is connected to an open end of thecylinder hole 76 by a bellows-shaped dust cover 79; furthermore, a brakefluid pressure chamber 80 is formed within the first clamping arm 75 a,the rear face of brake piston 78 facing the brake fluid pressure chamber80, and the brake fluid pressure chamber 80 is connected to the inletvalve 6A via a port 81 provided in the first clamping arm 75 a.

An adjustment mechanism 82 is provided within the first clamping arm 75a of the brake caliper 75, and this adjustment mechanism 82 includes anadjustment nut 83, an adjustment bolt 84, a relay piston 85, and a smallpiston 86, the adjustment nut 83 being connected to the brake piston 78so that relative rotation is not possible and housed within the brakefluid pressure chamber 80, the adjustment bolt 84 having its front endpart screwed into the adjustment nut 83, the relay piston 85 beingdisposed in a rear part of the brake fluid pressure chamber 80 andslidably fitted into the brake caliper 75 in a fluid-tight manner sothat it cannot rotate around the axis but can move in the axialdirection, and the small piston 86 being connected integrally andcoaxially to a rear part of the adjustment bolt 84, slidably fitted intothe relay piston 85 in a fluid-tight manner, and resiliently urged in adirection in which it frictionally engages with the relay piston 85.

A relay cylinder hole 87 having a smaller diameter than that of thecylinder hole 76 is provided coaxially in an end part, on the sideopposite to the brake disk 71, of the first clamping arm 75 a of thebrake caliper 75, and a stepped rear part of the relay piston 85 isslidably fitted into the relay cylinder hole 87 via a seal 88 while afront part of the relay piston 85 is inserted into a rear part of thecylinder hole 76. Moreover, opposite end parts of a restricting pin 89are fitted into the brake caliper 75 and the relay piston 85, therestricting pin 89 being disposed at a position offset from the axis ofthe cylinder hole 76 so as to have an axis that is parallel to thecylinder hole 76 and the relay cylinder hole 87. The relay piston 85 isthereby prevented from rotating around an axis that is coaxial with thecylinder hole 76 and the relay cylinder hole 87 and is supported by thebrake caliper 75 so that it can move along the axis.

A small cylinder hole 91 is coaxially provided in the relay piston 85,the small cylinder hole 91 having a tapered clutch face 90 in an openingat the front end. A movable clutch body 92 and the small piston 86 arecoaxially and integrally connected to a rear part of the adjustment bolt84, the movable clutch body 92 being capable of frictionally engagingwith the clutch face 90, and the small piston 86 being slidably fittedinto the small cylinder hole 91 in a fluid-tight manner.

One end of a clutch spring 93 exhibiting a spring force for frictionallyengaging the movable clutch body 92 with the clutch face 90 of the relaypiston 85 abuts against a retainer 95 engaged with and supported by aclip 94 mounted on an inner face of the cylinder hole 76, and the otherend of the clutch spring 93 abuts against the movable clutch body 92 viaa ball bearing 96.

The adjustment nut 83 and the adjustment bolt 84 mesh with each other bymeans of a steep thread 97 having a plurality of threads and grooveshaving a coarse pitch. One end of an over-adjustment prevention spring98 exhibiting a spring force urging the adjustment nut 83 toward thebrake piston 78 abuts against the adjustment nut 83, and the other endof the over-adjustment prevention spring 98 abuts against and issupported by a retainer 100 engaged with and supported by a clip 99mounted on an inner face of the brake piston 78.

The adjustment nut 83 and the brake piston 78 are unable to rotaterelative to each other due to interlocking of the abutment partsthereof, and the back plate 72 b of the first friction pad 72 and thebrake piston 78 are unable to rotate relative to each other due tointerlocking thereof.

In such an adjustment mechanism 82, when a fluid pressure is supplied tothe brake fluid pressure chamber 80 at a time of normal braking, thebrake piston 78, which has received the fluid pressure, moves leftwardin FIG. 2 within the cylinder hole 76 while elastically deforming theseal 77, and presses the first friction pad 72 against one side of thebrake disk 71; due to its reaction the brake caliper 75 moves rightward,which is a direction opposite to the direction in which the brake piston78 has moved, and the second clamping arm 75 b presses the secondfriction pad 73 against the other side of the brake disk 71. As aresult, the first and second friction pads 72 and 73 abut againstopposite sides of the brake disk 71 with an equal surface pressure, thusgenerating a braking force for braking the wheel.

During the above braking, the fluid pressure supplied to the brake fluidpressure chamber 80 does not generate an axial load on the adjustmentnut 83, but generates a rightward load on the movable clutch body 92integral with the adjustment bolt 84 meshing with the adjustment nut 83,the rightward load having a magnitude corresponding to the product ofthe cross-sectional area of the small piston 86 and the above fluidpressure, and a frictional engagement force according to the load actsbetween the movable clutch body 92 and the clutch face 90 of the relaypiston 85.

When braking normally, since the fluid pressure acting on the brakefluid pressure chamber 80 is relatively small, the frictional engagementforce acting between the movable clutch body 92 and the relay piston 85is also relatively small. Because of this, when the brake piston 78moves forward accompanying the progress of wear of the linings 72 a and73 a of the first and second friction pads 72 and 73, the adjustment nut83 moves forward together with the brake piston 78 due to the resilientforce of the over-adjustment prevention spring 98, and the movableclutch body 92 integral with the adjustment bolt 84 meshing with theadjustment nut 83 is detached from the clutch face 90 of the relaypiston 85 against the fluid pressure acting on the brake fluid pressurechamber 80 and the resilient force of the clutch spring 93.

When the movable clutch body 92 detaches from the clutch face 90 of therelay piston 85, the adjustment bolt 84, which is urged rightward by thefluid pressure acting on the movable clutch body 92 and the resilientforce of the clutch spring 93, moves to the right while rotating in thesteep thread 97 relative to the adjustment nut 83, which is unable torotate, and the movable clutch body 92 re-engages with the clutch face90 of the relay piston 85. In this process, the movable clutch body 92can rotate smoothly due to the action of the ball bearing 96 disposedbetween the movable clutch body 92 and the clutch spring 93.

In this way, accompanying the progress of wear of the linings 72 a and73 a of the first and second friction pads 72 and 73, the adjustment nut83 moves to the left relative to the adjustment bolt 84 so as tocompensate for the amount of wear, and it is therefore possible toautomatically maintain a constant clearance between the brake disk 71and the linings 72 a and 73 a of the first and second friction pads 72and 73 when not braking.

When the fluid pressure acting on the brake fluid pressure chamber 80 isdecreased in order to release the braking state, although the brakepiston 78 retreats due to the deformation restoration force of the seal77, since the retreating force makes the movable clutch body 92 engagewith the clutch face 90 of the relay piston 85 via the adjustment nut 83and the adjustment bolt 84, rotation of the adjustment bolt 84 relativeto the adjustment nut 83 is restricted. The brake piston 78 thereforecan only retreat by a stroke corresponding to the backlash between theadjustment nut 83 and the adjustment bolt 84, thereby giving anappropriate clearance, corresponding to the above backlash, between thefirst and second friction pads 72 and 73 and the brake disk 71.

When hard braking is carried out, the above-mentioned automaticadjustment is carried out until the fluid pressure of the brake fluidpressure chamber 80 increases up to a predetermined value that deformsthe brake caliper 75, and when the fluid pressure exceeds thepredetermined value, since the movable clutch body 92 is pressed firmlyagainst the clutch face 90 of the relay piston 85 due to the fluidpressure, the movable clutch body 92 and the relay piston 85 are joinedso that they cannot rotate relative to each other. As a result, sincethe adjustment bolt 84 is restrained so that it can not rotate, and theadjustment nut 83, which is intrinsically unable to rotate, remains onthe adjustment bolt 84, when the brake piston 78 moves further forwardaccompanying elastic deformation of the brake caliper 75 due to thefluid pressure, it is only the brake piston 78 that moves forward whilecompressing the over-adjustment prevention spring 98, leaving theadjustment nut 83 behind. In this way, when hard braking is carried out,over-adjustment between the adjustment nut 83 and the adjustment bolt 84is prevented.

Referring in addition to FIG. 3, a casing 23 formed from a bottomedcylindrical casing main body 24 having an end wall 24 a at the rear endon the side opposite to the front left wheel brake 2A and a cylindricalsleeve 36 fitted into and fixed to the casing main body 24 is secured tothe first clamping arm 75 a of the brake caliper 75 by means of aplurality of, for example, four, bolts 25 and nuts 26 screwed around thebolts 25. That is, a flange 27 integrally provided on the first clampingarm 75 a and a flange 28 integrally provided at the front end part ofthe casing main body 24 are secured by means of the bolts 25 and thenuts 26.

Moreover, three of the four bolts 25 are disposed on an imaginary circleC on a plane orthogonal to the axis of the cylinder hole 76 with theaxis of the cylinder hole 76 as a center, and the remaining one bolt 25is disposed at a position offset from the imaginary circle C; thisarrangement for the bolts 25 allows the casing 23 to be secured to thefirst clamping arm 75 a of the brake caliper 75 at a fixed relativeposition around the axis of the cylinder hole 76.

Provided within the casing 23 are a parking operation mechanism 30 and alock mechanism 31, the parking operation mechanism 30 enabling a parkingbrake state of the front left wheel brake 2A to be obtained in responseto the action of a parking control fluid pressure, and the lockmechanism 31 being disposed to the rear of the parking operationmechanism 30 so as to mechanically lock a parking operation state of theparking operation mechanism 30 and unlock in response to the action of aparking release control fluid pressure.

Referring in addition to FIG. 4, formed within the casing main body 24are a first slide hole 32, a screw hole 33, and a mounting hole 34, thefirst slide hole 32 being formed so as to have a diameter larger thanthat of the relay cylinder hole 87 while having its front end facing therear end of the relay cylinder hole 87, the screw hole 33 having adiameter smaller than that of the first slide hole 32 and beingcoaxially connected to the rear end of the first slide hole 32, themounting hole 34 having a diameter smaller than that of the screw hole33, being coaxially connected to the rear end of the screw hole 33, andhaving its rear end closed by the end wall 24 a of the casing 24, and anannular step 35 being formed between the first slide hole 32 and thescrew hole 33 so as to face forward.

The cylindrical sleeve 36 is fitted into the mounting hole 34, and amale thread portion 37 provided on the front end outer periphery of thesleeve 36 is screwed into the screw hole 33 so that the rear end of thesleeve 36 abuts against the end wall 24 a, thereby allowing the sleeve36 to be fixed within the casing main body 24 while having the front endof the sleeve 36 disposed to the rear of the step 35.

Formed in this sleeve 36 are a second slide hole 38, a guide hole 39, athird slide hole 40, and a fourth slide hole 41, the second slide hole38 having a diameter smaller than that of the first slide hole 32 andbeing coaxially connected to the rear end of the first slide hole 32,the guide hole 39 having a diameter smaller than that of the secondslide hole 38 and being coaxially connected to the rear end of thesecond slide hole 38, the third slide hole 40 having a diameter largerthan that of the guide hole 39 and being coaxially connected to the rearend of the guide hole 39, and the fourth slide hole 41 having a diameterlarger than that of the third slide hole 40 and being coaxiallyconnected to the rear end of the third slide hole 40, a forward-facingtapered restricting step 42 being formed between the second slide hole38 and the guide hole 39, and a rearward-facing annular step 43 beingformed between the third and fourth slide holes 40 and 41.

The parking operation mechanism 30 is formed from a parking piston 44slidably fitted into the first slide hole 32, a push piston 45 axiallyslidably housed in the first slide hole 32 in front of the parkingpiston 44, and a plurality of dish springs 46 disposed between theparking piston 44 and the push piston 45.

A small diameter portion 44 a is coaxially and integrally provided atthe rear end of the parking piston 44, the small diameter portion 44 abeing slidably fitted into the second slide hole 38, an annular parkingcontrol fluid pressure chamber 47 for making a parking control fluidpressure act on a rear face of the parking piston 44 is formed betweenthe step 35 of the casing main body 24 of the casing 23 and the rear endof the parking piston 44, and annular seals 48 and 49 for sealing theparking control fluid pressure chamber 47 from opposite sides in theaxial direction are mounted on the outer periphery of the parking piston44 and the outer periphery of the small diameter portion 44 a of theparking piston 44. A push projection 45 a, which is inserted into therelay cylinder hole 87, is projectingly provided integrally with thefront end of the push piston 45 so as to abut against the rear end ofthe relay piston 85.

A recess 44 b is provided in a central part of the front end of theparking piston 44, and an tubular insertion portion 45 b, which isinserted into the recess 44 b, is provided coaxially and integrally witha central part of the rear end of the push piston 45. Moreover, theouter diameter of the tubular insertion portion 45 b is set to besmaller than the inner diameter of the recess 44 b so as to allow radialdisplacement of the push piston 45 relative to the parking piston 44,and the outer diameter of the push piston 45 is also set to be smallerthan the inner diameter of the first slide hole 32 so that the tubularinsertion portion 45 b does not come to contact with the inner face ofthe first slide hole 32 even when the tubular insertion portion 45 bundergoes relative displacement in the radial direction within therecess 44 b.

The free length of the dish springs 46 is set at a value such that aspring load cannot be exhibited when the parking piston 44 is at aretreat limit while making the volume of the parking control fluidpressure chamber 47 a minimum, and in this state at least one portion ofthe tubular insertion portion 45 b is inserted into the recess 44 b.

In this way, the parking piston 44 and the push piston 45, whichsandwich the plurality of dish springs 46, are connected in the axialdirection while allowing relative displacement in the radial direction,and assembling of the parking operation mechanism 30 within the casing23 becomes easy.

An air chamber 50 is formed within a front part of the casing main body24 of the casing 23, the front end of the parking piston 44 facing theair chamber 50, and the push piston 45 and the dish springs 46 arehoused in the air chamber 50. Furthermore, a small air chamber 51 isformed between the relay piston 85 and the small piston 86, which isslidably fitted in a fluid-tight manner into the relay piston 85, and inorder to prevent relative axial movement between the relay piston 85 andthe small piston 86 from being accompanied by an increase or decrease inthe pressure of the small air chamber 51, the relay piston 85 isprovided with an air passage 52 with its front end communicating withthe small air chamber 51 and its rear end opening at the rear end of therelay piston 85. A groove 53 for providing communication between the airpassage 52 and the air chamber 50 is provided on a front end face of thepush projection 45 a, which is provided integrally with the front end ofthe push piston 45 so as to abut against the rear end of the relaypiston 85.

The first arm part 75 a of the brake caliper 75 and the casing main body24 of the casing 23 are secured by the plurality of bolts 25 and nuts26, and an O ring 54 is disposed between joining faces of the first armpart 75 a and the casing main body 24, the O ring 54, which is forcutting off the air chamber 50 from the exterior, being formed from anelastic material.

Moreover, the O ring 54 is mounted in an annular groove 55 provided inat least one of the first arm part 75 a and the casing main body 24, forexample, the casing main body 24; this annular groove 55 is formed so asto allow the O ring 54 to expand and contract accompanying a change inthe volume of the air chamber 50 in response to axial movement of theparking piston 44, and the O ring 54 absorbs a change in the volume ofthe air chamber 50.

Referring in addition to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the lock mechanism 31includes a lock piston 56, a cylindrical retaining tube 57, a pluralityof spheres 58, and an insertion shaft 59, the lock piston 56 beingslidably fitted into the third and fourth slide holes 40 and 41 of thesleeve 36 to the rear of the parking piston 44 so that a forward urgingforce acts thereon when the parking piston 44 moves forward and enablinga parking release control fluid pressure to act thereon toward the rear,the cylindrical retaining tube 57 being integrally and coaxiallyconnected to the small diameter portion 44 a, which is integral with arear part of the parking piston 44, the spheres 58 being retained at aplurality of positions along the peripheral direction of the retainingtube 57 so as to be able to move in a direction along the radialdirection of the retaining tube 57, and the insertion shaft 59 beingintegrally connected to the front end of the lock piston 56 so as to beaxially relatively movably inserted into the retaining tube 57 so as tosandwich the spheres 58 between itself and the inner face of the sleeve36 by contacting the spheres 58 from the inside of the retaining tube57.

The lock piston 56 integrally includes a small diameter portion 56 aslidably fitted into the third slide hole 40, and a large diameterportion 56 b coaxially connected to a rear part of the small diameterportion 56 a while forming a forward facing annular step 56 c betweenitself and a rear part of the small diameter portion 56 a and slidablyfitted into the fourth slide hole 41.

An annular parking release control fluid pressure chamber 60 is formedbetween the step 56 c of the lock piston 56 and the step 43 of thesleeve 36 in the casing 23 between the lock piston 56 and the sleeve 36,the front face of the lock piston 56 facing the annular parking releasecontrol fluid pressure chamber 60, and a spring chamber 61 is formedbetween the lock piston 56 and the end wall 24 a of the casing main body24 in the casing 23.

Annular seals 62 and 63 are mounted on the outer periphery of the smalldiameter portion 56 a and the outer periphery of the large diameterportion 56 b of the lock piston 56, the annular seals 62 and 63 sealingthe parking release control fluid pressure chamber 60 from oppositesides in the axial direction and being in sliding contact with the thirdand fourth slide holes 39 and 40.

An annular chamber 66 is formed between the casing main body 24 and theouter periphery of the sleeve 36 in the casing 23 in a portioncorresponding to the parking release control fluid pressure chamber 60,the sleeve 36 is provided with a plurality of through holes 67 thatprovide communication between the annular chamber 66 and the parkingrelease control fluid pressure chamber 60, and a pair of annular seals68 and 69 with the annular chamber 66 interposed therebetween aremounted on the outer periphery of the sleeve 36 so as to come intoresilient contact with the inner face of the mounting hole 34 of thecasing main body 24.

A spring 64 is provided in a compressed state between the end wall 24 aof the casing main body 24 and the lock piston 56, and the lock piston56 is resiliently urged forward by the spring force of the spring 64.Moreover, the spring load of the spring 64 is set to be smaller than thespring load of the clutch spring 93 of the adjustment mechanism 82.

The retaining tube 57 is formed so as to have an outer diameter thatallows it to be inserted into the guide hole 39 of the sleeve 36,retaining holes 65 are provided at a plurality of positions spaced inthe peripheral direction of the retaining tube 57, and the spheres 58are inserted into and retained by these retaining holes 65.

The insertion shaft 59 is formed by coaxially and integrally connectinga small diameter shaft portion 59 a on the front side and a largediameter shaft portion 59 b via a tapered portion 59 c that changes thecontact position of each of the spheres 58 from the small diameter shaftportion 59 a to the large diameter shaft portion 59 b in response toforward movement of the lock piston 56, the small diameter shaft portion59 a positioning the spheres 58 on the radially inner side when theparking piston 44 is at a retreat limit, and the large diameter shaftportion 59 b positioning the spheres 58 on the radially outer side whenthe lock piston 56 moves to a forward position in response to theparking piston 44 moving forward from the retreat limit.

Moreover, the tapered portion 59 c, which has the function of pushing upthe spheres 58 from the radially inner position where they are incontact with the small diameter shaft portion 59 a to the radially outerposition where they are in contact with the large diameter shaft portion59 b, is set so as to have an angle α relative to the axis of theinsertion shaft 59 of 20 to 60 degrees.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the parking piston 44 moves forward from theretreat limit, and in response thereto the lock piston 56 is movedforward by the spring force of the spring 64, from being in contact withthe small diameter shaft portion 59 a of the insertion shaft 59 thespheres 58 come into contact with the large diameter shaft portion 59 bvia the tapered portion 59 c; in this process the retaining tube 57moves forward to a position where the spheres 58 come into contact withthe inner face of the second slide hole 38 as a large diameter hole thathas a larger diameter than that of the guide hole 39, which is a smalldiameter hole, and the spheres 58, which are pushed upward by the largediameter shaft portion 59 b, abut against the restricting step 42positioned between the second slide hole 38 and the guide hole 39,thereby restricting rearward movement. That is, retreat of the retainingtube 57 retaining the spheres 58, that is, the parking piston 44, isrestricted.

Furthermore, a plurality of guide grooves 126 extending in the axialdirection of the insertion shaft 59 are provided on an area of the innerface of the second slide hole 38 with which the spheres 58 make contact,the inner face of the restricting step 42, and the inner face of theguide hole 39 so that parts of the spheres 58 are rollably fitted intothe guide grooves 126, each of the guide grooves 126 having across-sectional shape that is concavely curved with a radius R that isequal to or larger than a radius r of the spheres 58.

The parking control fluid pressure that is made to act on the parkingcontrol fluid pressure chamber 47 and the parking release control fluidpressure that is made to act on the parking release control fluidpressure chamber 60 are obtained by controlling, using fluid pressurecontrol means 105A, the fluid pressure discharged from the first pump10A, which is driven by the electric motor 11 so as to function as afluid pressure source, this fluid pressure control means 105A includinga first normally closed solenoid valve 106 disposed between the inletvalve 6A and a fluid pressure line 108 provided in the casing main body24 so as to communicate with the parking control fluid pressure chamber47, and a second normally closed solenoid valve 107 disposed between theinlet valve 6A and a fluid pressure line 109 provided in the casing mainbody 24 so as to communicate with the annular chamber 66 connected tothe parking release control fluid pressure chamber 60, and this fluidpressure control means 105A is housed within a protruding portion 24 bthat is provided integrally with the casing main body 24 of the casing23 and protrudes sideways from the casing main body 24.

Furthermore, a bleeder tube 101 and a bleeder tube 102 are providedintegrally with the casing main body 24 of the casing 23 so that asshown in FIG. 3 they extend obliquely upward on the side opposite to theprotruding portion 24 c, the bleeder tube 101 communicating with theparking control fluid pressure chamber 47, the bleeder tube 102communicating with the annular chamber 66 connected to the parkingrelease control fluid pressure chamber 60, and the bleeder tubes 101 and102 having extremities thereof blocked by caps 103 and 104 so that theycan be opened and closed.

When obtaining a parking brake state, the first pump 10A is driven bythe electric motor 11, the cut valve 17A is energized and closed, thesuction valve 18A is energized and opened and, furthermore, the firstnormally closed solenoid valve 106 of the fluid pressure control means105A is energized and opened. Due to this, a brake fluid pressure ismade to act on the brake fluid pressure chamber 80 and a parking controlfluid pressure is made to act on the parking control fluid pressurechamber 47 and, furthermore, by energizing and opening the secondnormally closed solenoid valve 107 a fluid pressure is made to act onthe parking release control fluid pressure chamber 60, thus making thebrake piston 78 and the parking piston 44 move forward while suppressingforward movement of the lock piston 56. Subsequently, the first solenoidnormally closed solenoid valve 106 is de-energized and closed, drivingof the first pump 10A by the electric motor 11 is stopped, the cut valve17A is de-energized and opened, and the suction valve 18A isde-energized and closed. By so doing, the fluid pressure of the parkingrelease control fluid pressure chamber 60 is released, the lock piston56 moves forward due to the spring force of the spring 64, and the lockmechanism 31 locks in response to forward movement of the parking piston44 and the lock piston 56. However, when forward movement of the lockpiston 56 is completed, the first normally closed solenoid valve 106 istemporarily energized and opened, thus releasing residual pressure ofthe parking control fluid pressure chamber 47.

In this way, when the parking piston 44 is locked by its forwardmovement, the push piston 45 is pushed forward via the dish springs 46,the relay piston 85 is moved forward by the push projection 45 aprovided at the front end of the push piston 45, the movement of therelay piston 85 makes the brake piston 78 move forward via the movableclutch body 92, the adjustment bolt 84, and the adjustment nut 83, andin the same manner as for normal braking, by pressing the linings 72 aand 73 a of the first and second friction pads 72 and 73 againstopposite sides of the brake disk 71 so as to generate a braking force, aparking brake state can be obtained.

During the process of obtaining this parking brake state, since therelay piston 85 and the movable clutch body 92 are frictionally engagedby the pushing force of the parking piston 44 so that they cannot rotaterelative to each other, relative rotation between the adjustment bolt 84and the adjustment nut 83 is restricted. Therefore, when the front leftwheel brake 2A functions as a parking brake, the above-mentionedautomatic adjustment by the adjustment mechanism 82 is not carried out.

Furthermore, when obtaining a parking brake state during a normalbraking operation, if a value detected by a pressure sensor 15A issufficiently high, the fluid pressure control means 105A may be operatedin a state in which the cut valve 17A is de-energized and opened, andthe suction valve 18A is de-energized and closed, employing the mastercylinder M as a fluid pressure source rather than driving the first pump10A by the electric motor 11; furthermore, if a value detected by thepressure sensor 15A is low, the cut valve 17A may be energized andclosed, the suction valve 18A may be energized and opened, and the fluidpressure control means 105A may be operated while driving of the firstpump 10A by the electric motor 11 is carried out. Regardless of thevalue detected by the pressure sensor 15A, the cut valve 17A may beenergized and closed, the suction valve 18A may be energized and opened,and the fluid pressure control means 105A may be operated while drivingof the first pump 10A by the electric motor 11 is carried out.

When the parking brake state is released, the first pump 10A is drivenby the electric motor 11, the cut valve 17A is energized and closed, thesuction valve 18A is energized and opened, and the first and secondnormally closed solenoid valves 106 and 107 of the fluid pressurecontrol means 105A are energized and opened. By so doing, the fluidpressure of the brake fluid pressure chamber 80, the fluid pressure ofthe parking control fluid pressure chamber 47, and the fluid pressure ofthe parking release control fluid pressure chamber 60 increase at thesame time; during this process of pressure increase, a fluid pressurethat is larger than the spring force of the spring 64 first acts on thelock piston 56, the lock piston 56 thereby retreats, and the resultantof the fluid pressure acting on the small piston 86 in the retreatdirection and the force of the clutch spring 93 subsequently becomeslarger than the forward pushing force acting on the parking piston 44due to the fluid pressure of the parking control fluid pressure chamber47, thus making the parking piston 44 retreat. The lock mechanism 31thereby unlocks, and the parking brake state is released.

The volume of the spring chamber 61, which is formed within the sleeve36 between the lock piston 56 and the end wall 24 a of the casing mainbody 24, changes in response to axial movement of the lock piston 56; inorder to prevent a change in the volume of the spring chamber 61 frombeing accompanied by an increase or decrease in the pressure thereof, acommunicating passage 110 communicating with the spring chamber 61 isprovided in the large diameter portion 56 a of the lock piston 56 andthe insertion shaft 59, the parking piston 44 is coaxially provided witha communicating passage 111 that makes the communicating passage 110communicate with the air chamber 50, and the spring chamber 61communicates with the air chamber 50, thus preventing the pressure ofthe spring chamber 61 from increasing or decreasing.

Furthermore, a screw hole 112, which is an opening part, is coaxiallyprovided in the end wall 24 a of the casing main body 24 of the casing23 in a portion that the rear side of the lock piston 56 faces, and thisscrew hole 112 is detachably closed by screwing in a bolt 113, which isa covering member.

The lock piston 56 is provided with a tool connection part 115 formed bycutting an internal thread 114 on a rear part of the inner face of thecommunicating passage 110, and as shown in FIG. 8 a tool 116 can beinserted into the screw hole 112 and be detachably connected to the toolconnection part 115, the screw hole 112 being opened by loosening andremoving the bolt 113.

The front right wheel brake 2C has the same arrangement as that of thefront left wheel brake 2A; when obtaining a parking brake state for thefront right wheel brake 2C, the second pump 10B may be made to functionas a fluid pressure source by operating the electric motor 11 in a statein which the suction valve 18B is energized and opened and the cut valve17B is energized and closed, thereby controlling the operation of fluidpressure control means 105B.

The operation of this embodiment is now explained. When a parkingcontrol fluid pressure is made to act on the parking control fluidpressure chamber 47, which the rear side of the parking piston 44 of theparking operation mechanism 30 faces, by controlling a fluid pressuregenerated by the master cylinder M or the first and second pumps 10A and10B by means of the fluid pressure control means 105A and 105B, theparking piston 44 moves forward, thus enabling parking brake states ofthe front left wheel and front right wheel brakes 2A and 2C to beobtained. Furthermore, since a parking operation state of the parkingoperation mechanism 30 is mechanically locked by the lock mechanism 31,a parking brake state can be obtained automatically; when the parkingbrake state is released, a parking release control fluid pressure may bemade to act on the lock mechanism 31, and a parking brake state can beobtained automatically by a simple structure without consuming power inthe parking brake state.

Moreover, the parking operation mechanism 30 is formed by providing theplurality of dish springs 46 between the parking piston 44, which isslidably fitted into the first slide hole 32 of the casing 23 and hasits rear side facing the parking control fluid pressure chamber 47, andthe push piston 45, which is connected to the relay piston 85 of thefront left wheel and front right wheel brakes 2A and 2C, and theoperation of the dish springs 46 enables the parking force acting on thefront left wheel and front right wheel brakes 2A and 2C to changegradually accompanying the parking piston 44 moving forward orretreating.

Furthermore, since the free length of the dish springs 46 is set at avalue so that a spring load cannot be exhibited when the parking piston44 is at the retreat limit, in a parking brake release state it ispossible to prevent the spring load of the dish springs 46 from actingon the front left wheel and front right wheel brakes 2A and 2C.

Moreover, since the push projection 45 a at the front end of the pushpiston 45 of the parking operation mechanism 30 is inserted into therelay cylinder hole 87 provided in the first clamping arm portion 75 aof the brake caliper 75 and abuts against the rear end of the relaypiston 85 slidably fitted into the relay cylinder hole 87, and theparking piston 44 and the push piston 45 sandwiching the dish springs 46are axially connected to each other while allowing a relativedisplacement in the radial direction, even if the axis of the relaycylinder hole 87 and the axis of the first slide hole 32 are displacedin a state in which the brake caliper 75 and the casing 23 are secured,the axial displacement can be absorbed, and the push projection 45 a canbe reliably inserted into the relay cylinder hole 87 and made to abutagainst the relay piston 85.

Furthermore, since the air chamber 50, which the front side of theparking piston 44 faces, is formed within the casing 23, and a change inthe volume of the air chamber 50 accompanying axial movement of theparking piston 44 is absorbed by expansion and contraction of the O ring54, it is possible to achieve smooth movement of the parking piston 44while preventing the pressure of the air chamber 50 from increasing anddecreasing, that is, it is possible to achieve a smooth parking brakeoperation and a smooth parking brake release operation.

Moreover, the O ring 54 is disposed between the brake caliper 75 and thecasing 23, which are secured to each other, and carries out the functionof cutting off the air chamber 50 from the exterior; it is unnecessaryto employ piping, etc. exclusively used for breathing of the air chamber50, and a change in the volume of the air chamber 50 can be absorbedwhile reducing the number of components.

Furthermore, the flange 27 provided integrally with the first clampingarm 75 a of the brake caliper 75 and the flange 28 provided integrallywith the front end of the casing main body 24 of the casing 23 aresecured by the plurality of bolts 25 and nuts 26; one of these bolts 25is disposed in a position offset from the imaginary circle C having itscenter on the axis of the cylinder hole 76 and being within the planeorthogonal to the axis of the cylinder hole 76 of the brake caliper 75,whereas the rest of the bolts 25 are disposed on the imaginary circle C,and the casing 23 is therefore secured to the first clamping arm 75 a ofthe brake caliper 75 at a fixed relative position around the axis of thecylinder hole 76.

This enables the casing 23 to be secured to the brake caliper 75 withoutmaking a mistake in the positions of the protruding portion 24 bprovided on the casing main body 24 of the casing 23 or the bleedertubes 101 and 102 relative to the brake caliper 75.

Furthermore, the insertion shaft 59, which forms part of the lockmechanism 31, is formed by coaxially and integrally connecting the smalldiameter shaft portion 59 a on the front side and the large diametershaft portion 59 b via the tapered portion 59 c, which changes thecontact position of each of the spheres 58 from the small diameter shaftportion 59 a to the large diameter shaft portion 59 b in response toforward movement of the lock piston 56, the small diameter shaft portion59 a positioning the spheres 58 on the radially inner side when theparking piston 44 is at the retreat limit, and the large diameter shaftportion 59 b positioning the spheres 58 on the radially outer side whenthe lock piston 56 moves to a forward position in response to theparking piston 44 moving forward from the retreat limit.

In accordance with such a structure for the insertion shaft 59, thespheres 58 are pushed up by being smoothly guided, by means of thetapered portion 59 c, from the small diameter shaft portion 59 a of theinsertion shaft 59 toward the large diameter shaft portion 59 b as aresult of the lock piston 56 moving forward when the parking piston 44moves forward, rearward movement of the spheres 58 is restricted by therestricting step 42 on the casing 23 side and radially inward movementthereof is restricted by the large diameter shaft portion 59 b, and alocked state can thus be maintained. Furthermore, by making the parkingrelease control fluid pressure act on the lock piston 56 so as to makethe lock piston 56 retreat, the parking brake state can be released.

Moreover, the plurality of guide grooves 126 extending in the axialdirection of the insertion shaft 59 are provided on the area of theinner face of the second slide hole 38 with which the spheres 58 makecontact, the inner face of the restricting step 42, and the inner faceof the guide hole 39 so that parts of the spheres 58 are rollably fittedinto the guide grooves 126, each of the guide grooves 126 having across-sectional shape that is concavely curved with the radius R that isequal to or larger than the radius r of the spheres 58, and it istherefore possible to make the contact area of the spheres 58 and thesleeve 36 of the casing 23 relatively large, thereby relieving thestress acting on the spheres 58 the sleeve 36 of the casing 23 when in alocked state.

Furthermore, since the angle α formed by the tapered portion 59 crelative to the axis of the insertion shaft 59 is set at 20 to 60degrees, the spheres 58 can be smoothly pushed up when the lock piston56, that is, the insertion shaft 59, moves forward while preventing thestroke of the insertion shaft 59 from becoming excessively large. Thatis, when the angle α is less than 20 degrees, although the spheres 58can be smoothly pushed up, the stroke of the insertion shaft 59 becomestoo large, and when the angle α exceeds 60 degrees, the force componentfor pushing up each of the spheres 58 in response to forward movement ofthe lock piston 56 becomes insufficient, and it becomes difficult tosmoothly push up each of the spheres 58.

Furthermore, since the screw hole 112, which is closed by the bolt 113,is provided in the end wall 24 a of the casing main body 24 of thecasing 23 in the portion which the rear side of the lock piston 56 ofthe lock mechanism 31 faces, and the tool connection part 115, to whichthe tool 116 inserted through the screw hole 112 can be detachablyconnected, is provided in the rear part of the lock piston 56, bypulling the tool 116 connected to the tool connection part 115 againstthe spring force of the spring 64, it is possible to force the lockpiston 56 to retreat, thus forcibly releasing the parking brake state bya manual operation, and this is convenient when carrying out maintenanceor inspection.

Although an embodiment of the present invention is explained above, thepresent invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment andmay be modified in a variety of ways as long as the modifications do notdepart from the present invention described in Claims.

1. A parking brake system comprising: a parking piston (44) slidablyfitted into a casing (23) so that a parking brake state can be obtainedby forward movement in response to a parking control fluid pressureacting on a rear face side of the parking piston (44); a lock mechanism(31) provided within the casing (23) to the rear of the parking piston(44) so as to automatically lock in response to forward movement of theparking piston (44) in order to mechanically lock the parking piston(44) at a forward position and unlock in response to a parking releasecontrol fluid pressure acting on the lock mechanism (31); a fluidpressure source (10A, 10B, M); and fluid pressure control means (105A,105B) for controlling a fluid pressure generated by the fluid pressuresource (10A, 10B, M) so that the parking control fluid pressure and theparking release control fluid pressure can be obtained; the lockmechanism (31) comprising a lock piston (56) that is slidably fittedinto the casing (23) to the rear of the parking piston (44) so that atleast when the parking piston (44) moves forward a forward urging forceacts on the lock piston (56) and that is arranged such that a parkingrelease control pressure can act on the lock piston (56) toward therear, a cylindrical retaining tube (57) that is integrally and coaxiallyconnected to a rear part of the parking piston (44), spheres (58) thatare retained at a plurality of positions in the peripheral direction ofthe retaining tube (57) so as to be able to move in a direction alongthe radial direction of the retaining tube (57), and an insertion shaft(59) that is connected integrally to the front end of the lock piston(56) so as to be axially relatively movably inserted into the retainingtube (57) in order to sandwich the spheres (58) between the insertionshaft (59) and the inner face of the casing (23) while contacting thespheres (58) from the inside of the retaining tube (57) and that canpush the spheres (58) radially outward when the lock piston (56) movesto a forward position in response to forward movement of the parkingpiston (44) from a retreat limit, the casing (23) having providedtherein, so as to surround the retaining tube (57), a large diameterhole (38) on the front side with which the radially outwardly pushedspheres (58) make contact, a small diameter hole (39) on the rear sidewith which the spheres (58) at a radially inner position make contact,and a restricting step (42) that is disposed between the large diameterhole (38) and the small diameter hole (39) in order to restrict retreatof the spheres (58) by abutting, from the rear, against the spheres (58)in contact with the large diameter hole (38), and a plurality of guidegrooves (126) extending in the axial direction of the insertion shaft(59) being provided on the inner face of the large diameter hole (38),the inner face of the restricting step (42), and the inner face of thesmall diameter hole (39), the guide grooves (126) having a concavelycurved cross-sectional shape with a diameter that is equal to or largerthan the diameter of the spheres (58) so that part of each sphere (58)is rollably fitted into the guide groove (126).